theladyofstylbloghttps://theladyofstyl.net
Celebrating my love for confident women and beautiful, healthy hair!Thu, 14 Dec 2017 02:30:51 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/71a4d5d60df6850e8c2ebf8cf1d3a86e?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngtheladyofstylbloghttps://theladyofstyl.net
Spotlight Product: Sylk Serum™https://theladyofstyl.net/2016/12/28/spotlight-product-sylk-serum/
https://theladyofstyl.net/2016/12/28/spotlight-product-sylk-serum/#respondThu, 29 Dec 2016 04:48:30 +0000http://theladyofstyl.net/2016/12/28/spotlight-product-sylk-serum/]]>
As you all have probably already guessed, I am a crazy, passionate advocate for growing, healthy hair! In my 13 years of being a cosmetologist, achieving healthy thickness and growth are 2 of the biggest concerns I see in the salon and in the cosmetology industry period. I have tried product after product after product promising insane amounts of growth. Tingly products, stinky products, tar-like products, products in pretty bottles, products in ugly fat jars, products from other countries, products, products, products!!! Only to see… well… nothing.

This prompted me to do my own research.

I thought back to when I was a kid. When we got sick, my grandparents barely ever gave us medicine from the store because it hardly ever really worked. Not to sound cliche’,but the thing that got results was the natural remedies. The 5 pepper concoction for congestion, the tomato soup for low iron symptoms, the baking soda and lemon juice for gas,pickle juice for stomach aches, using my own pee to rid myself of the chicken pox (yes, pee, really), vinegar for everything, the salt for nauseousness…. I could go on and on.

I thought, if all these remedies work for the body, then surely I could get great results with naturally derived ingredients! So, there I was sitting in a pile of books and papers and I realized the one thing I kept noticing was the effective use of naturally derived oils! I began to search more and more into certain oils and I began to test using certain oils to treat certain hair issues and the results were nothing short of amazing!! The results I achieved from using oils has been phenomenal and has constantly done wonders for my clients’ hair life!

Using these oils will do wonders for your hair! Especially those seeking thicker and longer hair. Which brings me to my spotlight product; Sylk Serum.

Sylk Serum is an expertly mixed mixture of all the oils I mentioned, excluding the Tea Tree oil. (Tea Tree oil is most effective with one other carrier oil to treat the issues listed above.)

Sylk Serum is a powerhouse for the hair and scalp! Just imagine having all of the fabulous benefits from each oil I previously mentioned all expertly mixed into one awesome container !!! And the best part is, each oil used is in its pure, organic form! No additives or preservatives!

To get the best results from Sylk Serum, here is a list of ways to use it and its benefits:

-Sylk Serum is awesome for use as a Serum after towel drying, before drying under a dryer, air drying or blow drying for use as a heat protectant, moisture, to keep hair strong and free from breakage.

– a very effective hot oil treatment

– use on thinning areas for regrowth

– add a few drops to your favorite conditioner for added moisture and protection

– a powerful deep conditioner

– use as a conditioner if hair is suffering from severe dryness

– use on scalp under protective styles to radically propel growth!

I use this on every client that sits in my chair and I constantly see fabulous results from my clients who consistently use it (if you’re on InstaGram, check out my page @theladyofstyl to see results from Sylk Serum). I discover new and innovative ways to use it daily and it hasn’t failed yet!

Interested in trying it for yourself?

Go here to order squareup.com/store/sylvia-winston-the-lady-of-styl

Thanks for reading y’all and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!!

Between getting ready for Thanksgiving, taking care of my family (including our 3 dogs), being a daily chauffeur, taking care of my clients,working behind the scenes in my business, working on my upcoming projects, and (whew) so much else, I fell a bit behind but I’m here now and I ain’t going no wheres (Yes, I’m aware of that extra ‘s’)!!

Ok. So. My job and passion and reasoning behind this blog as a whole is beauty and I know this BUT every now and then I just have to throw in some positive vibes and yea.. this is one of those times. So here we go…..

As we all know, a few weeks ago, a new president was elected. I purposely avoided the Election Day polls and results all day cause I really was nervous about who the winner would turn out to be. I had a feeling in my gut all day that I was going to be disappointed with the outcome. I worked all day and made sure to stay away from the tv. I even went as far as to take a sleep aid so I would quickly go to bed and not be tempted to go online or watch tv or anything (This was extreme I know, but y’all don’t understand my relationship with night time. That is my time! It’s the only time my house is quiet and I enjoy it to the 100th power! So sleeping is the last thing I usually do!!). So… I distinctly remember waking up at exactly 4:44 am and thinking, “I’ll be safe if I check out InstaGram”, so I did and just like that, the first picture I saw was… what I didn’t want to see.. and I was devastated. So devastated, I didn’t go back to sleep.

I walked around much of the next day with what felt like a brick in my belly. That is, until I had a talk with myself and made myself snap the hell out of it!

What the hell was wrong with me anyway?!

Since when have I ever believed that anyone controlled my life and its outcome other than God???

Had I lost my mind? Yep! Temporarily! But I got it back!

No one! And I mean NO ONE has any power over me or you and the outcome of our lives except us and God!

This situation really made me think. It made me think about the power we individually have. It made me think about the Bible and all of the powers God gave us to use to better our lives, to go as far as we desire to go, to have the lives we want, to have the abundance we desire and so on… I thought, “God has said on several occasions to ask Him for what I want and to seek Him and to trust Him and He would give me THE DESIRES OF MY HEART (Psalm 37:4). The way I’m (and so many others) are behaving right now is a total slap in God’s face!!!” How in the world can I pray and believe in God for literally everything else in my life but act as though my life is over because of some man with the same creator as me??!! Yea. I had to check myself and fast.

As I said, God gave us each power, whether we believe it or not and the crazy thing is your power is definitely yours but you can give your power away. But the interesting thing is, NO ONE CAN TAKE YOUR POWER UNLESS YOU GIVE IT AWAY! I notice that it’s so easy for us to give away our powers. We give our power away to boyfriends, husbands, problems, jobs, circumstances, etc. We allow life to live us and not the other way around! If we plan on doing anything extraordinary with our lives, this mentality has GOTTO STOP! We have to accept that everything in our lives will not go as planned and no, we won’t get our way in every instance and for that cause, we have to learn how to rise above and keep going. Keep fighting. We have to speak life and prosperity over ourselves, our businesses, our families and anything else that matters to us. The Bible tells us that “Life and death are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). It also says that “Whatever a man thinks is what he is” (Proverbs 23:7). With these powerful words in mind, look at the powers you have over your life! If you’re saying, “Omg! This is about to be a disaster!!” , then you’re right! It will be a disaster, for you! If you’re thinking, “I’m going to lose everything!”, you’re right. You are. (Yikes!)

In closing, I’m not a holy roller or a super religious freak or anything. I’m just a person who believes in God and the powers He gave me. Us. We can’t just roll over in life. We gotta fight and prevail. God said that He wants us to have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). That wasn’t contingent on who the president was. That’s what God wants and He is God! But we have to want it too. I really hope this helped someone the way it helped me. And as usual, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to reach out!

One of my biggest pet peeves in the salon is for a woman to come in, professing her love for and desiring healthy hair but when I ask them if they would like a trim (which they definitely do if I asked them) and they say no or “maybe next time” or ” I’m not ready for that yet”. I then of course talk to them about why it’s important to get a trim and how it will benefit their hair and most come around really quickly but there are always a few who are so afraid of getting rid of those raggedy, damaging ends! These are people who want their hair appear long but not interested in their hair being healthy. Please don’t let this be you!!

There are a lot of stories and myths out there about split ends, and I am here to clear them all up once and for all!!

Here are 10 truths about split ends that should clear up all misunderstandings and put you well on your way to beautiful, healthy hair!

Split ends CANNOT be repaired!!

Trim your ends every 4 to 6 or every 6 to 8 weeks depending on how fast your hair grows. This is a must!

There is NO PRODUCT that repairs split ends!!! SPLIT ENDS MUST BE TRIMMED!!! There are products and home remedies that claim to “mend” or “fix” split ends. These products only seal the ends until either you shampoo or until the product wears off. Whichever comes first. Meanwhile the ends are splitting further up the hair shaft.

Dry hair splits faster.

Chemicals such as perms, relaxers, permanent hair colors and lighteners (bleach) cause split ends to come about faster. Chemically treated hair is dryer because the chemicals break down the hair from the cortex. The cortex is the middle layer of the hair which houses the hair’s moisture as well as many other very important components of the hair’s structure.

Trimming your hair DOES NOT make the hair grow faster! (This is explained further below).

If you do not trim your hair, the hair shaft will continue to split all the way up from the bottom causing weaker, damaged, brittle, breaking hair! Also….

Not trimming your ends will result in stunted growth. As mentioned above, trimming your split ends will not make your hair grow faster. The ends of the hair have nothing to do with your hair follicle which is where the hair physically grows out of. However, the hair will grow to a point and the split ends will break off as fast as the hair grows. Which means, all though the hair is still growing from the roots, the ends are split and breaking. Because of this, you won’t see your growth.

Again, and I can’t stress this enough!!! There is no product that will get rid of split ends!! The split ends must be CORRECTLY trimmed away (please find a professional stylist who knows the difference! This is so crucial!!) It doesn’t matter what you look up or what home remedy you find, nothing and I mean nothing gets rid of split ends except scissors!! Don’t believe me? Test it out for yourself!

Normal split ends are a result of every day wear and tear on hair and the fact that the ends of the hair are the oldest and driest parts of the hair. There are some instances where ends will split excessively. Think every 2 to 3 weeks. Causes of excessive splitting are:

Over-use of hair pins

Chemical damage, especially from over-use of lighteners (bleach)

Excessive use of heat

Improper trimming

Over wear of ponytails

I hope this post has answered any questions you may have about those pesky split ends. They sound scary but if you keep a regular trimming regimen you will never have a problem!!

But every now and then, I need to unload about things that concern me….

Why is it that when we make our most earth-shattering life decisions, life seems to want to throw every curve ball possible to deter us?

Why is it that while we are doing nothing and ain’t trying to do nothing, nothing happens then?

Last question. Why is it that when life throws these curves, why is our first impulse to quit??? Why is that even an option???? (Sorry bout that. But that was definitely the last question. For now)

Nobody that has ever accomplished anything major, did it without any detours and mishaps.

Tyler Perry went through years of abuse and attempted suicide as a child. He also went through more than 10 years of investing thousands into renting buildings, hiring talent, and constantly writing working and producing, only to be disappointed in the lack of support time after time. He even lived in his car for a period of time BUT he never gave up on his dreams!!!!

Oprah Winfrey, being passionate about journalism and landing her first dream job of being an anchor for a popular Baltimore station, was fired because of having to deal with sexism and harassment. But did she let that stop her?? We all know the answer to that! Oprah is now a powerhouse and a household name and last time I checked, worth 3 BILLION DOLLARS!!!!

The one thing I want to stop and point out about my girl, Oprah, is that she was fired from her FIRST job! A lot of us would have just came to the immediate conclusion that “Well, I guess this isn’t for me”. It would have been over! Just like that !! But thankfully Ms. Winfrey had and has STAYING POWER!!! I read somewhere that Oprah cried during a sad report and they let her go. She was “too sensitive and feeling to report the news! But look !! The same thing that caused her to be fired is the exact same reason she is so loved and admired today!! Just because one setting doesn’t appreciate what you bring to the table, doesn’t mean anything!! There is a whole audience of people just waiting on you and all you have to offer the world!

I could go on and on. Especially as I look back on my own life. I have been through so much trying to build my life to what I want it to be! I have suffered so many setbacks. Some self-inflicted, some life- inflicted but I made it through and I had to deal with those things and learn those lessons so I could be a better woman, entrepreneur, mother and partner.

Giving up on your dreams is only an option if you realize you never really wanted it in the first place.

Go after what you want with all you have! Pray! Push! And watch your success unfold. You’ve got this and you will make it!!!

Until next time!

]]>https://theladyofstyl.net/2016/10/17/giving-up-why-is-it-so-easy/feed/0rachalle36Thinking of a Career In Beauty??https://theladyofstyl.net/2016/10/15/thinking-of-a-career-in-beauty/
https://theladyofstyl.net/2016/10/15/thinking-of-a-career-in-beauty/#respondSat, 15 Oct 2016 04:41:05 +0000http://theladyofstyl.net/?p=57]]>Hello again!!

As I mentioned in my last post, among other things, I am a very passionate cosmetology educator (licensed). I actually taught in the beauty school sector for a little over five years. During my time teaching, I worked very closely with hundreds of women of all ages, from all backgrounds, in all phases of life.

So, at the start of each of my classes, I had a ritual where I would always have a motivational session. One of the favorites was asking the students why they were there. The question was usually, “What are you looking to get out of the beauty industry”? As you guys can probably imagine, I got all kind of answers but out of 5 years of answers, the number one answer was INDEPENDENCE. Most of my ladies were looking for a way to do what they love, make a good living, raise their children, and live life on their own terms! And guess what? They had come to the right place! A career in beauty is very exciting, full of options and very lucrative! The only requirements are; passion, creativity and a real desire to be great!

So you’ve decided to go for it? What now?

First, figure out where you want to be in the beauty industry.What area are you most passionate about? The beauty industry is more than hair (which is my favorite). There are various areas to choose from. Check out this list!

barber

cosmetologist (hair stylist)

esthetician

medical esthitician

nail tech

product distributor

platform artist

educator

platform artist

make up artist

trichologist

colorist

work on cruise ships

work in editorial and film and more!!

Does anything resonate with you? Where do you see yourself in this list?

This list is by far not the end all be all of options but it definitely covers much of the industry. So again, where do you see yourself? Do you love makeup? Does cutting hair just fascinate the hell out of you? A lot of people love color! If you are looking to enter the world of beauty, take some time to go through this list and see what resonates with you and your passions.Passions being the keyword here. Which leads me to my next point.

Make sure whatever you decide on feeds your passion. Please never settle for anything based on how much money it may produce or because of any other reason other than passion. The beauty industry is a service industry. You will not succeed if you do not genuinely love it!

Ok, so once you have pinpointed the area you want to jump into, its time to figure out how you will receive your education. Most of the areas of expertise listed above can be learned in cosmetology school. Believe it or not, Cosmetology school covers alot of ground! In cosmetology school you learn the orgin of hair, chemical services such as color, perms, relaxers, etc. You also learn the basics of hair, business, cutting and even some barbering skills! You also learn how to do nails! And I mean everything from simple manis to acrylics, sculptured nails, designs and more! If skin and make up is more your thing, you will also learn some basic esthetics!!

The possibilities are endless!

If you decide to go to beauty school full time, depending on your state requirements you should be in school 10 months to a year. Some schools offer part time hours which should have you out of school in close to two years. Barber school is pretty close to the same time schedule. The difference in barber training is that you learn more about hair cutting, trimming and shaving. You will still learn some chemical processes, roller sets etc but the main focus is hair cutting.

There is so much more info to share and I could easily type all night about one of may favorite subjects ever but Im headed to teach a class.But please remember to follow your bliss! If anyone has any questions please dont hesitate to ask!

I am happy, optimistic, positive and I make it a point to love hard, work hard and live life happily, freely and on my own terms!!

I created my own line of products which is still growing called Sylk tm (More on that later).

My purpose on Earth is to beautify, motivate and inspire women all over the world!!

I work in my salon, The Lady of Styl’s Sylk Bar and I specialize in healthy Sylk Pressing!

I’m sorry…I went a little longer than I planned but I just wanted yall to have a decent idea of who you were dealing with.

So, my blog will celebrate my passion. Healthy, beautiful hair with a sprinkle of inspiration and motivation mixed in. I will be sharing things I learn from doing hair every day and everything I learn along the way and I appreciate all of you who ride with me!

I will be sharing a whole lot so if you have any questions, please dont hesitate to ask! I can be reached here or you can email me @ theladyofstyl@gmail.com!

With that being said, I don’t want a regular career in hair. I want to do huge things and I will.

There was a time, I couldn’t say that so confidently. It was because I didn’t think I could go any further than other hairstylists around me. Its a true statement that we are products of our surroundings. If the people who surround us live limited lives,it is very likely that we will too.

It wasn’t until I moved around and ended up in Atlanta, that I fully realized that we are fully able, with the backing of God, to make our lives ANYTHING we BELIEVE they can be.

So yea, I have lollygagged and made mistakes but guess what? Now, I am closer than I have ever been. My life and career will be extraordinary and I will touch, change and inspire women’s lives everywhere with beauty as my vehicle!

Thanks for listening to my declaration and hopefully you will be around to watch this unfold and you will see that you too can make your life ANYTHING you BELIEVE it can be!

I am a 30-something mother of 3 teenaged girls, ages 15,16, and 18 (yikes I know..lol) who are my whole entire world. I currently reside in Atlanta, Ga and have lived here off and on since September 2008 (I say off and on because we moved to South Florida in March of 2014 and stayed until March 2015).

Im very laid back and very optimistic. I am a dreamer. I know that anything is possible to those that believe and even to some that dont believe….lol. I hate drama of any kind and I love love…..

Now lets talk about my love affair with hair……

I became a licensed cosmetologist in 2003 and have been in love ever since.

I have worked in salons, barbershops, chain salons….

I’ve done every nationality’s hair …and I’m still going…

In 2010, I went back to school to become a licensed cosmetology educator.

I went on to teach at a local beauty school for 4 years and loved every second.

One day I realized I wasn’t feeling excited to go to work anymore. I wasn’t jumping out of bed as normal. I’m not the type of person who will go to a job every day that I don’t like so I knew it was time for a change. I sat down and asked myself what did I really want. I knew I wanted to stay in the field I was passionate about but which way would I go?

Finding the answer really wasn’t hard at all. I wanted to go back to being a hairstylist but on a completely different level. This time, instead of trying to do everything under the sun in the salon, I decided to focus on one element. Silk Pressing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I will do a few other things such as color, weaves, etc but I am very drawn to silk pressing. I’m not sure why…but I could do it all day, everyday…which I do! lol

I’m also really obsessed with healthy hair. I mean really obsessed.

Being an educator, I had to know the ins and outs of hair; how it begins, what it does in the meantime, and how it ends. Y’all understand this, I love being an educator and I take it very seriously. The material I give/gave to my students had to be real and correct. I felt/feel personally responsible for cranking out well informed, educated, passionate stylists. I have seen far too many “so called” professionals who really have absolutely no idea what they are doing on people’s hair and I am sick of it.

So, my constant studies, combined with my experience has given me a serious obsession with healthy hair. So that’s where this blog comes in.

This blog is dedicated to all things healthy hair! Healthy hair tips, healthy hair products, reviews, and any and everything else! I hope you all enjoy sharing in my obsession as much as I enjoy sharing it with you!